On July 28, 2008, SEVP turned on a "maintenance job" in the SEVIS system that cancelled student requests that had been in “requested” status more than 180 days, even if the underlying request was already approved or was still pending with USCIS. That cancellation in turn caused approximately 6000 SEVIS records to “complete” prematurely.
As a result of the CLAIMS interface failing to consistently update the status of student requests in SEVIS (including OPT requests), SEVP decided to temporarily suspend the maintenance job that cancels student requests older than 180 days on October 28, 2008. SEVP also dedicated additional staff to work with USCIS to identify and update requests and correct the SEVIS records appropriately in order to take the burden off DSOs. Note: since the updates will be done through a batch process, DSOs will not receive e-mail confirmation that a request or completed record has been updated.
December 11, 2008
SEVP has reactivated the records for all 6,000 international students completed as a result of the maintenance job that cancelled student requests that had been in “requested” status more than 180 days. See SEVP Implements Data Fix On Records Canceled By 180-Day Maintenance Job.
November 17, 2008
SEVP is systematically updating records that were completed/terminated following the cancellation of a student request that had been in requested status more than 180 days. Since SEVP is already working on this issue, SEVP has advised that DSOs do not need to request a correction/data fix separately through SEVP. If a SEVIS record has been completed/terminated for another reason, a DSO should request a correction/data fix through SEVIS or the SEVIS Help Desk.
In addition to the CLAIMS/SEVIS interface issues, the lack of information in the Country of Birth or Date of Birth fields may affect whether an EAD card is produced after adjudication. Nebraska Service Center reports that it is proactively confirming that EADs have been produced. However, DSOs are encouraged to e-mail the "[]sc.schools" e-mail address for the Service Center if the student has not received the EAD within 30 days of approval, as reflected in the case status online or in an approval notice.
Report Your Issues to NAFSA Leaders and Staff
As always, DSOs are encouraged to report any issues to NAFSA leaders and staff through IssueNet: Report an Issue and/or request USCIS case assistance from their Regulatory Ombudsperson through IssueNet:Get Liaison Help. We appreciate all of the information sent regarding this issue, which the SEVIS subcommittee used in developing recommendations for SEVP and case examples for USCIS to look for the underlying cause of the failure to update SEVIS.
As a result of the CLAIMS interface failing to consistently update the status of student requests in SEVIS (including OPT requests), SEVP decided to temporarily suspend the maintenance job that cancels student requests older than 180 days on October 28, 2008. SEVP also dedicated additional staff to work with USCIS to identify and update requests and correct the SEVIS records appropriately in order to take the burden off DSOs. Note: since the updates will be done through a batch process, DSOs will not receive e-mail confirmation that a request or completed record has been updated.
December 11, 2008
SEVP has reactivated the records for all 6,000 international students completed as a result of the maintenance job that cancelled student requests that had been in “requested” status more than 180 days. See SEVP Implements Data Fix On Records Canceled By 180-Day Maintenance Job.
November 17, 2008
SEVP is systematically updating records that were completed/terminated following the cancellation of a student request that had been in requested status more than 180 days. Since SEVP is already working on this issue, SEVP has advised that DSOs do not need to request a correction/data fix separately through SEVP. If a SEVIS record has been completed/terminated for another reason, a DSO should request a correction/data fix through SEVIS or the SEVIS Help Desk.
USCIS CLAIMS Database Updates
USCIS is also attempting to identify and correct any underlying issues in CLAIMS. In particular, a CLAIMS database update in September affected a number of fields in CLAIMS that might have impacted the CLAIMS/SEVIS interface, including SEVIS number, Country of Birth, and Date of Birth. Since the interface issues seem to have preceded the September CLAIMS update, it is not clear whether this is a cause of the current CLAIMS/SEVIS interface issues. However, the Nebraska Service Center has confirmed that the issue with the field for SEVIS numbers in CLAIMS appears to be resolved, and adjudicators are also now checking these fields during adjudication to ensure that the fields are appropriately populated.In addition to the CLAIMS/SEVIS interface issues, the lack of information in the Country of Birth or Date of Birth fields may affect whether an EAD card is produced after adjudication. Nebraska Service Center reports that it is proactively confirming that EADs have been produced. However, DSOs are encouraged to e-mail the "[]sc.schools" e-mail address for the Service Center if the student has not received the EAD within 30 days of approval, as reflected in the case status online or in an approval notice.